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13 Responses to “Your Favorite Lenten Tradition”

My favorite tradition would have to be prayer. I try to bring a real awareness to my prayer practice and take it beyond the recitation of words. I do my best to listen to what God and His only son are trying to tell me, being ever mindful that any doubts and fears – any anger I may have at this time of year – are very much present in the life of Christ as well. I do my best to surrender to God’s plan for me, gently reminding myself that willingness, not perfection, is the quality of a good Catholic this time of year.

My favourite tradition is abstaining from meat thfoughout the Great Lent. I also like to try the many meatless recipes that are in Operation Ricebowl each year. It is a way of joining other, less fortunate cultures, in spiritual Communion. It is a meaningful fast to eat on a level that the people portrayed do. Besides these meatless recipes, I have also enclosed other meatless recipes from throughout the world at: http://CM-LO.com/links.html

From Holy Thursday through Good Friday at noon, the Church was open for those who wished to visit and spend time in prayer – “Will thou not spend one hour with me?” was the backdrop for the invitation to accompany our Lord during his Passion.

Another memory associated with Holy Week was the practice applied at our grade school in that each of the 1-8 grades would be assigned an hour to be in Church on Holy Thursday and into Good Friday – it was mandatory for the entire class to be present during that hour in silent prayer and prayers led by the nuns.

I attend a retreat either at my home parish or elsewhere as a mean to keep my faith alive. I include going to the stations of the cross and this year will aim to go to Our Lady of the Island, Long island, to walk the outdoor stations.

I think my favorite tradition is going to Church. My most meaningful Lent and Easter was in 2004, when I felt the transformation from childhood to adulthood. It was during that Lent that I first began to understand what exactly it meant to have Christ die on the cross for my sins. Suddenly, Palm Sunday and during Holy Week had a different meaning to me. Instead of just another Mass to go to, I willingly went and used that time to show my gratitude for such a sacrifice.

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